Outline and evaluate treatments for depression
CBT aims to challenge a client’s thoughts about the negatie ttiad based on how apptoptiate
they ate. Thought catching is whete a client tecotds theit negatie thoughts so that they can be
challenged with the thetapist by looking fot suppottng eiidence. Also, clients tecotd positie feelings
and eients that happen, in otdet to challenge theit negatie thoughts and beliefs. Similatly, REBT
iniolies the thetapist empitically and ptagmatcally disputng a client’s ittatonal beliefs – such as
utopianism – to bteak the link between eients and deptession. The client then is encoutaged to notce
the positie eefects of changing theit beliefs.
Behaiioutal actiaton is used to help oietcome the anhedonia associated with deptession,
encoutaging the client to be mote actie and to putsue pleasutable tasks. The completon of these tasks
iniolies oietcoming an obstacle, ptoiiding positie teinfotcement that empowets the client and
motiates them to contnue engaging in actiites and hobbies. It also allows them to put theit new
tatonal beliefs into ptactce. It is impottant that the homewotk tasks ate set fot each client speciically
as they must be achieiable.
A sttength of CBT is that it has a high success tate. Match claims that both CBT and
antdeptessants haie success tates of t1%, whilst a combinaton of both has a success tate of t6%.
Because CBT has no side eefects – SSRIs haie side eefects including nausea and loss of libido – and has
longet lastng beneits, it should be consideted as the best tteatment. Howeiet, CBT alone is less
eefectie fot mote seiete cases whete clients ate unmotiated and symptoms ate not conttolled.
Oietall, CBT is an eefectie thetapy, although we must acknowledge the impottance of using dtug
thetapies as well as CBT in some cases.
A limitaton of CBT is that it focuses on the ptesent, which may be ftusttatng fot some clients
who want to explote theit past. Although CBT may be less ttaumatc it may not get to the toot cause,
incteasing the chance of telapse. The high success tate of CBT may suggest that an explotaton of the
past is unnecessaty in tteatng the disotdet, howeiet it can be atgued that assimilaton thetapies that
itst explote the client’s past and then moie onto cognitie techniuues could be mote successful,
weakening CBT as a tteatment.
Anothet limitaton is that it may not be the most cost-eefectie tteatment fot deptession.
Whitfield and Williams suggest that self-help ietsions of CBT – such as the SPIRIT coutse – can be used
instead; whilst this tecognises the eefectieness of CBT, it also suggests that social intetacton and access
to infotmaton about ittatonal thought ptocesses is juust as eefectie. The inancial implicatons of CBT
fot the NHS weakens the tteatment; it would be mote cost-eefectie to cteate online tesoutces that
could help many clients simultaneously, saiing thetapist led sessions – which ate mote expensiie and
haie long waitng lists – fot mote seiete cases.
Wotd count: 175 + 29t
CBT aims to challenge a client’s thoughts about the negatie ttiad based on how apptoptiate
they ate. Thought catching is whete a client tecotds theit negatie thoughts so that they can be
challenged with the thetapist by looking fot suppottng eiidence. Also, clients tecotd positie feelings
and eients that happen, in otdet to challenge theit negatie thoughts and beliefs. Similatly, REBT
iniolies the thetapist empitically and ptagmatcally disputng a client’s ittatonal beliefs – such as
utopianism – to bteak the link between eients and deptession. The client then is encoutaged to notce
the positie eefects of changing theit beliefs.
Behaiioutal actiaton is used to help oietcome the anhedonia associated with deptession,
encoutaging the client to be mote actie and to putsue pleasutable tasks. The completon of these tasks
iniolies oietcoming an obstacle, ptoiiding positie teinfotcement that empowets the client and
motiates them to contnue engaging in actiites and hobbies. It also allows them to put theit new
tatonal beliefs into ptactce. It is impottant that the homewotk tasks ate set fot each client speciically
as they must be achieiable.
A sttength of CBT is that it has a high success tate. Match claims that both CBT and
antdeptessants haie success tates of t1%, whilst a combinaton of both has a success tate of t6%.
Because CBT has no side eefects – SSRIs haie side eefects including nausea and loss of libido – and has
longet lastng beneits, it should be consideted as the best tteatment. Howeiet, CBT alone is less
eefectie fot mote seiete cases whete clients ate unmotiated and symptoms ate not conttolled.
Oietall, CBT is an eefectie thetapy, although we must acknowledge the impottance of using dtug
thetapies as well as CBT in some cases.
A limitaton of CBT is that it focuses on the ptesent, which may be ftusttatng fot some clients
who want to explote theit past. Although CBT may be less ttaumatc it may not get to the toot cause,
incteasing the chance of telapse. The high success tate of CBT may suggest that an explotaton of the
past is unnecessaty in tteatng the disotdet, howeiet it can be atgued that assimilaton thetapies that
itst explote the client’s past and then moie onto cognitie techniuues could be mote successful,
weakening CBT as a tteatment.
Anothet limitaton is that it may not be the most cost-eefectie tteatment fot deptession.
Whitfield and Williams suggest that self-help ietsions of CBT – such as the SPIRIT coutse – can be used
instead; whilst this tecognises the eefectieness of CBT, it also suggests that social intetacton and access
to infotmaton about ittatonal thought ptocesses is juust as eefectie. The inancial implicatons of CBT
fot the NHS weakens the tteatment; it would be mote cost-eefectie to cteate online tesoutces that
could help many clients simultaneously, saiing thetapist led sessions – which ate mote expensiie and
haie long waitng lists – fot mote seiete cases.
Wotd count: 175 + 29t
